


Dumb

by ohmwork



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Avocados, Lance is kinda creepy, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Singing in the Shower, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:06:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8013133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmwork/pseuds/ohmwork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shiro would probably say it was written in the stars that they would meet; he’s a sap like that. And maybe he’s right. Maybe it was the universe’s plan all along. </p><p>(Alternately, Lance is a dummy who sings with strangers in the shower and Keith is just so fucking gay)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Avocados = Ass

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh im so excited to finally be posting this... I've already written all the chapters for this fic so you can expect regular updating. Let me just say that I'm sooooOOo nervous because this is my first multi chaptered fic ive written since like 2014. Anyway, I'll be posting the first two chapters consecutively because they're both short. I really hope you enjoy this as much as i loved writing it. PLEASE let me know how you feel!!

"Lance! Get up, you have classes today and I made breakfast!" A voice calls, nearly on top of Lance. He moans and turns over in his bed. Classes aren’t necessary, right? Who needs calculus, right? Maybe if he pretends he didn’t hear anything, Hunk will leave him alone. Maybe he can get a little more sleep. Nyma, his girlfriend, and her persuasive, sexy words kept him up nearly all night. Damn her.

"I made fajitas!"

Lance throws himself out of his bed, tripping over his blanket and falling flat on his face. Who knew that the ground was so dusty? Hunk just laughs and helps him up. Lance glares and shuffles over to the small table in their dorm. At least the place smells amazing.

When Hunk actually cooks breakfast, Lance gets giddy and won’t sit still until he’s served; that’s how much he loves Hunk’s food. Lance gets to try all of his new concoctions that are almost always delicious. The first time Hunk made breakfast fajitas was their first week of their first year of college and Lance nearly melted in his seat from the sheer deliciousness.

He prefers his with scrambled eggs, red and yellow bell peppers, skirt steak, and tons of cheese. Hunk likes his with the dreadful, pear shaped atrocity: avocado. Lance hates avocados more than he hates anything else in the world. Their texture is revolting, they have no taste besides _ass_ and they're ugly green.

"Quit thinking about avocados and eat your damn food," Hunk says, rolling his eyes. Lance has a face he makes for every emotion, according to him. Lance thinks that’s a bunch of ass, like avocados.

After Lance has scarfed down three fajitas, a glass and a half of orange juice and a banana, he makes his way into the bathroom. The second the door is swung open, music fills his ears. It’s not coming from their bathroom so it must be from the one adjacent to them. Lance frowns. Loud and obnoxious neighbors are the worst. The walls are so thin he can hear everything. Lance remembers Hunk telling him about a new guy transferring here and taking the empty dorm beside them only after he scolded Lance for skipping the meeting with the RA.

Currently, _Say Something_ by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera is playing. Lance knows the song; it’s always played on the radio. However, what he doesn’t expect is the soulful voice he hears above the music. It's gorgeous and hits all the notes just right and Lance is so completely entranced he forgets he forgets he’s supposed to be getting into the shower too.

It didn’t really occur to Lance that chiming in would be weird, or creepy or stupid. It’s just an instinct, he just felt the need to join. Then again it’s not often that Lance ever does think before doing.  

"And I am feeling so small. It was over my head I know nothing at all," Lance sings the melody alongside the man across the way. The man's singing falters for a moment as he realizes someone has just joined him but he resumes as the next line comes in.

"And I will stumble and fall. I'm still learning to love, just starting to crawl."

Lance strips out of his clothes with the next line, "Say something, I'm giving up on you. I'm sorry that I couldn’t get to you." He thinks that their voices match perfectly. It's like chocolate and peanut butter, milk and cookies, coffee and cream, so sweet and smooth. The man's voice is seeping into Lance's soul, vibrating his bones and beating his heart. He's utterly enchanted.

"Anywhere I would have followed you. Say something, I'm giving up on you. And I will swallow my pride, you’re the one that I’ll love and I'm saying goodbye."

The build of the music builds Lance up with it and he gets so deeply enthralled into singing the song, his face scrunching as he hits the notes Christina hits and fists bouncing to each syllable of each word.

"Say something I'm giving up on you. And I'm sorry that I couldn’t get to you. And anywhere I would have followed you. Say something I'm giving up on you."

Lance holds onto the countertop of the sink tightly as he says the last few words, "Say something I'm giving up on you… Say something." He hears the shower on the other side turn off without another song. The other guy is done. Lance is still emotionally invested in the song and the incident and is a little offended this guy just ditched him after their moment! "Whatever, I'm a better singer anyway," Lance grumbles, the beginning of a rivalry waking up.


	2. Pretty boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> honestly, keith is just so gay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okie dokie since i said most of what i wanted to in the first chapter, im just going to say again, please leave comments and stuff. They only take seconds and it really helps writers write more. I cant force you or anything, but it would be greatly appreciated (:

Keith avoided the shower for as long as he could before he felt disgusting. Which was only two days. He just started taking night showers instead. He felt weird about what happened on Monday. Some guy, his neighbor, sung with him in the shower!

Who does that? Honestly! The walls are thin, that's a given, but who in the world hears their neighbor in the shower and decides to join them?! Crazy people. Crazy, weird, dumb people who have a voice like an angel.

Keith can't get the man's voice out of his head. It's stuck in there, like a fly trapped in a glass box. Buzzing, banging, reverberating in his mind, it's driving Keith nuts! All he can hear is the man's melodic voice, perfectly matching his own, rising and falling and growing to each note. Keith just sings for fun, but this guy, he must be a musician.

On his way to calculus, Keith can't help but hum the tune of the song he sung with his neighbor. The dorms aren't that far from where he needs to be, but Keith leaves early anyway. He'd rather not be late, especially to a class like calculus where if you miss a day, you're fucked. It doesn't matter if you have it once, twice, or seven times a week, every day you're learning something new and building off of yesterday.

Math comes pretty easily to Keith. His brain is good at finding patterns and linking things together, which helps when your page is full of weird symbols and enough numbers to make pi look small. When he was in elementary and middle school, he was in advanced math and tutored some kids, but things changed when he got into high school.

Just as class is starting, the hall doors are thrown open and a gangly boy stumbles in, still in his pajamas. His fleece bottoms have spaceships on them and his shirt has some sort of robotic lion on it that looks really familiar to Keith for some reason. As the guy flops down the stairs, he rubs his eyes like a child and yawns, sliding into one of the seats. He's actually pretty cute. Keith has to force his eyes away from the guy's beautiful navy blue eyes and tousled brown locks.

Today, the topic is linear approximations and differentials. But that's as far as Keith has gotten in his notes. He has that dumb song stuck in his head and the dumb voice and this dumb cute boy sitting right next to him with the cutest little nose and nimble fingers that write so fast. By God does he have sloppy writing though. Keith can barely understand a thing! So much for copying the notes... Maybe he can talk to the professor after class.

When Keith is back at home, he researches the topic, trying his hardest to focus on the lines and numbers and symbols but his mind is still on the cute boy. Keith huffs and looks back at the video he's watching. He'll force himself to focus if he has to.

_Maybe I could just ask him to help me with it._

Keith shakes the thought out of his head. He wouldn't dare ask someone for help. Not even if it gave him alone time with a cute boy. A cute boy with glistening skin just begging to be marked and hair needing to be tugged on and a face worthy of-

"Fuck," Keith catches himself rubbing his growing hard on through his jeans. _Later_. Keith manages to get an idea of what happened in class this morning, but only with the thought of the treat he was allowing himself later. But gosh he was so hard and he's only seen this guy once and he can't believe himself.

Keith practically runs to the bathroom after writing the last word in his notebook. His socked feet slip and slide but he manages to lean against the wall across from the shower and yank his pants to his knees without falling on his face. He roughly grips the base of his cock and bites his lip thinking about the smooth, flawless skin of the boy who sat next to him in calculus. God, he was so pretty, like a painting worth millions of dollars. He should be displayed in front of the world.

Keith moans as his hand picks up speed. He doesn't think about the thin walls or the fact that anyone could hear him at this moment. He's too busy thinking about those eyes looking up at him while Keith's cock is down his throat. Eyes like Neptune, big, blue and oh so captivating.

Pump after pump of Keith's hand pushes him over the edge. He's floating in space, the blissful, ethereal, rapturous space of the man's navy irises. Keith is so deep, so deeply sunk; he may never be able to return. He only saw this guy once!

Later in the week, Keith forgets he was avoiding the guy next door and takes a shower in the morning at his normal time. He's too busy day dreaming about the pretty boy from calculus to remember the angelic voice across the way. He's reminded soon, though.

Keith is so fucked.


	3. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is a wild child who really loves Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie Dokie so i know i said sundays are the days i would update but i just i love this story so much and im updating it now (: And before you guys read this, just know that there is a slightly controversial topic in this chapter. There will be a little speech at the end about it.. 
> 
> Anyway, i really hope you enjoy today's update !! The next one is in Keith's point of view. The story will be switching POVs every chapter and i hope that isnt too confusing. That's just how i have it set up. Coming up soon is my personal favorite chapter. And i'd like your guy's input on a couple things. First, I'd like to know how you feel about the switching point of views and id also like to know how you would like updating twice a week. Because 14 weeks is a long time and i wouldnt want to wait that long if i was a reader... So just let me know. Maybe even more than twice a week...

The next time Lance catches the man in the shower again isn’t for an entire week. It didn’t really bother him much either. He honestly forgets about it, which he does a lot. However, the precise moment he sluggishly trudges into the bathroom, Lance is delighted to hear the beginning of another song. This time, it’s _Broken_ by Amy Lee and Seether.

“I wanted you to know, that I love the way you laugh. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away,” the man across the wall begins. Lance smiles and start’s up his own shower. Last time he didn’t get the full experience. Everyone knows you sing better in the shower. “I keep your photograph; and I know it serves me well. I wanna hold you high and steal you pain…”

“Because I’m broken, when I'm lonesome, and I don’t feel right, when you’re gone away. You’ve gone away. You don’t feel me here, anymore. ” Lance joins him again, and this time the man doesn’t skip a note at all. He just keeps singing. Lance takes this as a challenge, and sings harder. _I won’t lose!_

“The worst is over now. And we can breathe again. I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away. There’s so much left to learn and no one left to fight. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain!” Lance cracks open his shampoo bottle and belts out the lyrics. The dumb singer in the adjacent room will not best him.

“’Cause I'm broken, when I'm open, and I don’t feel like I am strong enough. ‘Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome and I don’t feel right when you’re gone away.”

Lance starts thinking during the short instrumental phase about how he’s always stuck with the girl parts. What is that all about? He’s a man too! Then again, the girls always get the parts that show off the best, and Lance likes rubbing it in the face of the other man.

“’Cause I'm broken, when I’m open, and I don’t feel like I am strong enough. ‘Cause I'm broke, when I'm lonesome. And I don’t feel right, when you’re gone away.”

This song is really sad. And so was the last one! Geez, is this guy only into sad songs? What is he, emo? The songs are good and all, but Lance doesn’t need to be in a sour mood right before a dumb class like calculus. It’ll just make him unfocused, and he doesn’t need that.

“’Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome and I don’t feel right when you’re gone.”

Speaking of calculus, he didn't do his math problems! Lance quickly jumps out of the shower, soap still on his skin, and runs for the door. However, not without catching the last line of the song sung so gorgeously by the dumb man on the other side of the wall.

“You’ve gone away. You don’t feel me here anymore.”

Lance will win the next round… That’s for sure! Just after he does he calc homework…

.

After class, Lance heads over to his friend’s place. Every other Monday Lance joins up with a former bandmate and they will make music sometimes, but usually they just chill out. Occasionally, Lance pulls his much nicer and responsible friend into some bad things. The phrase, “pepper peacocks” is the reason the pair caused the pair’s banishment from the zoo. So worth it though.

“Lance! Glad you could make it today!” Shiro greets him out at the sidewalk. There was a break in not that long ago so they had to meet outside because of some weird security thing they have now.

“Of course!” Lance smiles widely. “What’s on the agenda today?”

“Well we could grab my tablet and speaker and make our way down to the studio, or we could wait around for my brother to show up.”

“As much as I’m sure he’s as cool as you say, I’d rather not.”

“I thought so, just hangout here and I’ll be right back.”

In a couple minutes, Shiro is dragging a rolling case behind him as they walk the two and half blocks to the studio where they used to play. It brings back fond memories of Lance trying his best to flirt with Allura, the owner, being completely rejected and Coran teaching him to grow a mustache (which Lance still hasn’t learned). However, the memory of the last time they were there makes Lance frown.

“Hey, stop thinking about Rolo, okay?” Shiro says squeezing Lance’s shoulder. _It must be my face again._

“Yeah,” Lance replies, looking at the park across the street. Suddenly a sly smirk spreads across his face.

Shiro raises an eyebrow. “What bad idea are you thinking of dragging me into now?”

Lance just starts running into the center of the park where a cement platform sits. It’s for public performances, but usually you have to request a spot and pay for it. That’s definitely not going to happen. No one is there; no one is using the space, so who is going to care? Right?

“Lance, you know you have to pay for this spot right?” Shiro sighs, unzipping his case.

“It’s not stopping you,” Lance laughs, extending the microphone stand and plugging it into the outlet in the ground. Shiro just shakes his head and starts assembling his electric drum set. What’s the worst that could happen? The cops get called? Who calls the cops on street performers? Assholes, that’s who and assholes don’t come to the park, so they should be fine. Right?

Once they’re all set up, Lance starts to feel the jitters. He loves this feeling. He misses this feeling. The tremble in his fingers, the gears in his mind working overtime, the anxiety settling in. Lance lets out a shaky breath with a small smile tugging at his lips. He has a tablet in front of him with the sounds he needs to make this song come to life, he has a drummer behind him that will not fail him, and he has a microphone in his hand that will pick up every noise he makes. It’ll be okay.

It’s an original song, one of the first that Shiro and Lance wrote together. When the band first started, Rolo was the only one who wrote songs but most of them were about weed about not everyone wanted to sing about that. Therefore, Shiro and Lance started working on some beats and vocals and a song grew out of them just fooling around. Rolo didn’t seem to hate it, so they played it at their gigs. The song is about never giving up despite having so many things thrown your way. It was something both Lance and Shiro could relate to in completely different ways.

Shiro left for the air force straight out of high school. He loved serving his country proudly and he would call Lance and his brother all the time, until one day he just stopped calling. No one knew why, but it was worrying. It had been almost a full year before they heard anything, and it was because Shiro snuck his way back home on an enemy plane that crash-landed. He was taken as a prisoner of war for nearly a year and it took Shiro a long time to recover, get a hold on his PTSD and learn to use his new prosthetic. The band really helped him.

The band helped Lance too. While his story isn’t as sad or as scary, Lance is the middle child. He’s not the perfect oldest brother with the PHD or the oldest girl who married a dentist or the youngest who gets most of the attention. He’s just the middle child that was told, “why can’t you be more like your brother?” or “can you not be annoying for five seconds?” or his personal favorite “you’ll never amount to anything.” In a family like his, where the first-born son is the treasured one, Lance wasn’t given the option to go to college and be what he really wanted to be. Lance wants to be part of the stars, but “that not a practical job!”

While one is suffering from a mountain of trauma, the other is drowning in a sea of self-depreciation. They both grew in adversity. Shiro is a successful teacher at one of the local high schools and Lance is passing all his classes (including dumb calculus) so he can be what he wants. The pain these two feel, it creates their song, making it so much stronger and you can tell it comes straight out of the heart.

Apparently the crowd can too because they start racking in some serious cash in the open case by the end of the song. Well, it could be pity too, Lance always cries when he sings this song. He can’t help but think about Shiro and how much worse he has it and how much he didn’t deserve it and it just breaks him down.

Shiro stands from his set and gives Lance a hug. Lance laughs sadly but hugs him back and the crowd starts cooing. Lance can barely believe they’re still friends. He can still remember a time when he would look up to Shiro both literally and figuratively. Heck, Lance still looks up to Shiro. He’s so strong and nice and way better than anyone else Lance knows.

“Come on, you big sap, we have to get packed before we get in trouble.” Shiro mumbles in his hair.

Yeah, they probably should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People feel things differently. Just because someone “has it worse” doesn’t mean you're not allowed to hurt either. This is not the pain Olympics, you shouldn’t be trying to make anyone’s pain less than what they feel it is. PTSD is a serious condition that is extremely life altering. Not having a support system or family that supports you can be emotionally damaging, especially growing up that way. Now, I do not have PTSD and I'm not compared to an older sibling but I can empathize with them both. I have experienced traumatic things that have led me to therapy and I understand your parents/loved ones deserting you. This is a fictional story, and I'm sorry if anyone gets offended by me comparing the two directly, but like I said, this isn’t the pain Olympics. Everyone’s pain is still pain.


	4. Keith Has Boy Crushes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith realizes that things are kind of getting weirdly coincidental...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie dokie artichokie ! Here is chapter 5 ! This one basically just sets up some knowledge for later chapters but i still find it kind of funny, especially bc keith is so gayyyyy... Also i can totally relate to keith and his crush on "the voice next door" bc there is this kid at my school and holy shoot his voice is so gorgeous and i have this crush on his voice. Not even him. Just the way he sounds haha. Anywayyyyyy have a lovely day and enjoy ! Let me know how you feel !

Keith is pissed. He's angry, he’s upset, and he's even a little hurt. However, he's mostly just pissed. People are allowed to have sex, that's fine. Keith has had sex before but not this fucking loudly! God they're so noisy and it sounds like they're right in his room. They either need to be quiet or fuck somewhere else. Keith is pissed. And it's definitely not because of his crush on the voice next door. Definitely not. 

"Fuck, fuck, God, don't stop!" A masculine voice whines. Keith can't tell if he's being fucked or it he's doing the fucking half the time! He hasn't heard a second voice at all, but he has heard the bed creaking so unless the guy is just hardcore masturbating, he's having sex. 

"Fuck," a different voice moans. That's definitely a girl. And unless this guy is into pegging, he's doing a girl. Now Keith is even more pissed. How dare he fuck a girl this loudly! He's definitely not angry because the guy he likes is probably straight. No! It's because of the stupid loud moans and banging. 

Keith can't stand listening to it any longer. He jumps up from his bed and starts heading for his door. Maybe he'll go see Shiro. It's been a couple days. And Keith needs the pick me up. 

Shiro's place looks soulless unless you’re in his bedroom. His living walls are bare, not a single picture or painting in the room. It's plain white with beige furniture and some cheap grey shaggy carpet. The kitchen is black and white and the bathroom has the essentials in it, but his bedroom is full of posters, pictures, drawings, knick-knacks and other mementos. That's were Keith likes to hangout when he visits his brother. 

Sprawled out and comfortable, Shiro plays with old drumsticks and Keith has a framed gig poster from years ago in his hands. It’s mostly black and purple with the four robotic lion faces and one humanoid face and silhouettes of the band. 

"I met up with an old band mate earlier," Shiro says fondly. 

Keith sits up and smiles. "Yeah? What did you do?" 

"Well, we played illegally in the park nearby. That was great, but I was so nervous we were going to get caught." Shiro chuckles and squeezes the drumstick tightly. "Then we came back to my place and just talked for a while." 

"Who was it? I can barely remember who was even in that dumb band." Keith teases Shiro about the last part. Truly, he liked it too, even though Keith wasn't a part of it. 

"Lance. And hey, that band wasn't dumb. It was cool. I learned some important things while part of it!"

"Yeah, how to wear eyeliner." 

Shiro shoves Keith with his foot and they both start laughing. Keith misses this so much. He misses how they used to do this before Shiro left for the military. Even the thought of that period in his life makes Keith frown distastefully. Those were the worst times he's ever had to endure. 

"Hey, no frowning allowed!" Shiro nudges him again, digging his toes into Keith's ribs. 

"Do you think it's possible to have a crush on more than one person?" Keith blurts out. His own eyebrows knit together and he looks more confused than Shiro does. He didn't mean to say that! He wasn't even thinking about saying that! Oh god... 

Shiro takes a couple moments to respond. "I think so. I don't think you can fall in love with two different people because that just doesn't make sense to me, but I think you can crush on them both. Like be infatuated with them." 

"I heard that polyamory is making a comeback," Keith says more to himself. He does sort of agree with Shiro, but maybe not. This guy across the way, it's definitely just an infatuation with his voice. Keith has always loved voices. He used to listen to Shiro sing so badly to him when they were kids and to their foster mother's singing as she cooked. 

But this other guy. This guy from his calculus class with the dumb caramel skin and mousy brown hair and navy eyes and those dumb space pajamas he wears every single time to class. Really, is all he owns are rocket ship fleece pants and that robo-lion shirt-

"Did you ever have a lot of groupies?" Keith asks. 

"You're all over the place, Keith. I thought we were talking about your struggling boy crushes?" 

"Just answer me." 

"Not really. I mean when we first started out it was just us five and you. And then like right before we broke up, we had a small fan base. I wouldn't call any of them groupies. I would probably remember a crazed teenage girl dying to meet us." 

"Okay. Do you know a guy with like brown hair-" 

"I know about a million men with brown hair, Keith." 

"Shut up! I think you might know this guy in my calculus class!" Keith groans. If Shiro really does know who this kid is, it's going to be really weird. Especially if he's a band member. It'll make it even worse. 

"Okay, okay, describe him a little more." 

"He's pretty tall, but lanky and he has eyes that are blue, like the sky or the ocean or Neptune or something else cliché. And a thin face and eyelashes that would definitely scrape his glasses, if he wore any, I mean, and he has bony fingers and they write so fast like lightning and sometimes he sticks his tongue out when he's trying to work out a problem and his skin, his skin is so flawless and tan and it looks baby smooth. He looks kind of like a mixture between some angel and the guy your parents don't want you to bring home." Keith couldn't help but ramble. He knows he did, but he wanted to get a good description in there. He wanted to truly express what this beautiful man looked like to Shiro. He doesn't even care if he sounds like some 14-year-old girl. 

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure you're talking about Lance." Shiro says, a finger to his lips as if he were thinking hard, but he's grinning so dumbly that Keith knows he's just playing. "You have a boy crush on Lance!" He teases in a singsong voice.

"Shut up! Wasn't he the one you just hung out with?" 

"Yep. He's a great guy, Keith." Shiro starts to get a little more serious. "He can be a little tough to crack and annoying at first, but once you wiggle your way through, he's great." 

“I’m not dating your old bandmate!” Keith denies, shaking his head vigorously. 

“I don’t see why not. I even give you my blessing.”

“Shiro…”

“Fine, tell me about your other boy crush.”

“Shiro!”


	5. Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is very competitive, but sometimes boys with really good voices make him forget it was a competition to begin with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOSH IM SO SORRY I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY DONT HATE ME I LOVE YOU ALL HERE IS THIS CHAPTER its probably one of my favorite ive written. I like how it came out, i like the song, i just like it (: anyway, I get off school on wednesday this week so im hoping ill be able to post a couple chapters this up coming weekend. I'm excited for some things to start happening hAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (that was an evil laugh btw) 
> 
> xx hailey

Lance is so ready to battle it out this morning. He’s all fired up from the other day still, and he’s ready to kick this guy’s ass with whatever song he’s going to play! He’s going to rock it, that’s for sure.

In fact, Lance is so pumped up, he’s sitting in the bathroom, on the toilet, waiting for the guy to come in and start his typical routine. He got up extra early this time just for this. He’s going to get the first line and he’s going to win.

_Swishhh_! Lance hears the water turn on and his face splits into a grin. Gosh, he can’t wait! He’s just so excited to sing with this guy. _Wait- no! Destroy this guy!_ That’s what he meant, yeah. How long does it take to press play? Come on!

The opening notes to _Just Give Me A Reason_ by P!nk fill the room and Lance slumps. Why is it that today, when he swore to have the first line that the first person to sing is another girl! Is Lance cursed or something? Why does he always get the dumb girl parts? Whatever, P!nk has some good notes in this song, so Lance will definitely win, even if he doesn’t get to sing a guy part.

“Right from the start, you were a thief, you stole my heart and I, your willing victim. I let you see the parts of me that weren’t all that pretty, and with every touch you fixed them,” Lance starts. The other person starts too, but stops after the fourth word when he realized Lance wasn’t going to back down. _Nope! I’m gonna show you!_

“Now, you’ve been talking in your sleep, uh oh, things you never say to me, uh oh, tell me that you’ve had enough of our love, our love.”

Lance likes to be the one in control of the song. For the past couple times he’s always been the support, the background character, but being the star of the show makes him feel powerful. Finally, he’s the one getting the attention.

“Just give me a reason, just a little bit’s enough, just a second, we’re not broken, just bent; we can learn to love again. Oh, it’s in the stars, it’s been written in the scars on our hearts. We’re not broken, just bent; we can learn to love again.”

“I’m sorry I don’t understand where all of this is coming from. I thought we were fine,” the other guy starts singing now and Lance smiles. He’s definitely not backing down from the fight. He’s also trying his hardest, but Lance isn’t about to trade in the gold for any one! He will be victorious. He will get the glory.

“Oh we had everything.”

“Your head is running wild again. My dear, we still have everything and it’s all in your mind.” The man’s voice is so strong and it fills Lance’s chest. It makes him feel warm despite the condescending lyrics. His voice is like the sun finally peeking out from behind the clouds on an autumn morning. Its graceful radiance masks the bitter bite of the crisp air and warms the soul.

“Yeah, but this is happenin’.”

“You’ve been having real bad dreams, uh oh, used to lie so close to me, uh oh-“

“There’s nothing more than empty sheets, between our love, our love, oh, our love, our love.” They start to sing together and it just feels so good. Lance never realized how much he missed melding their voice together and making beautiful sounds. He never realized how much he absolutely loves singing with this guy. He doesn’t even know who he is! Somehow, that doesn’t matter.

“Just give me a reason, just a little bit’s enough, just a second, we’re not broken, just bent; we can learn to love again.”

“Oh it’s written in the stars, it’s been written in the scars on our hearts.” The man belts the lyrics like it’s the last thing he’ll ever say and Lance… Lance feels something he can’t quite place his finger on, but it feels powerful. 

“We’re not broke, just bent; we can learn to love again.”

“Oh, tear ducts and rust-”

“I’ll fix it for us-“

“We’re collecting dust, but our love’s enough-“

“You’re holding it in-“

“You’re pouring a drink-“

“No, nothing is as bad as it seems-“

“We’ll come clean!”

Lance loves the back and forth banter-like responsiveness of the next verse. Both of them, and they’re voices, louder than the original singers are, more powerful, more beautiful. It sounds like… like something Lance never wants to forget. He wants to store this memory away for a long time because nothing will live up to this. Not passing his mid-terms, not graduating, nothing. This, _this_ is why he loves music.

“Just give me a reason, just a little bit’s enough, just a second, we’re not broken, just bent; we can learn to love again. Oh, it’s written in the stars, it’s been written in the scars on our hearts. We’re not broken, just bent; we can learn to love again.”

Music is passionate and inspiriting and _awe_ some. Especially when you have a partner or a band that really feels the same way. Music like the kind that Lance is experiencing right now is the kind of stuff that can pull you out of a funk or get you out of bed or feel better after a shit break up.  Music like this is what Lance wanted to show his family, he wanted to be able to express this feeling of utter perfection. They never did understand.

“Just give me a reason, just a little bit’s enough, just a second, we’re not broken, just bent; we can learn to love again. Oh it’s in the stars, it’s been written in the scars on our hearts. We’re not broken, just bent; we can learn to love again.”

“Oh, we can learn to love again. Oh, we can learn to love again. Oh, that we’re not broken, just bent and we can learn to love again.” Lance finishes it off and he stands there, motionless. Another song starts playing, sounds like My Chemical Romance, but Lance is deaf to almost everything at this point. The other guy doesn’t sing either, but his shower does turn off.

Lance forgets he was supposed to fighting this guy. He forgets to figure out who won. He forgets to breathe.


	6. Egghead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is an egghead with some damn sexy collarbones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie Dokie Artichokie... Here is chapter six (: I'm thinking about posting twice more before monday, I'm not sure though. Anyway, this chapter is kinda filler but Keith is so funny im sorry hahaha   
> Let me know how you feel ! Comment if you will please ! 
> 
> hailey xx

Keith is probably going to die. He has calculus this morning and he’s definitely not ready to face this Lance guy. Especially because now he knows who he is. He’s someone Shiro knows and is like best friends with or whatever.

He’s also probably going to die, because Lance is late to class and the teacher is having people pair up to work on an assignment. They’re supposed to learn a certain page in the textbook and then teach it to each other. Everyone is already paired up and Lance is late which means Keith will likely have to be his partner.

“Uh, sir, can I join in a group as a third member?” Keith awkwardly asks his professor. The teacher looks as if he hasn’t has slept in 30 years instead developing an addiction to cocaine along with a hunched back and a more salt than pepper comb over. Then again, if Keith has his job, he might look the same.

Just about when the professor is going to say something, the hall doors fly open with a loud _bang_. The slam of the handle against the wall makes nearly everyone flinch, including Keith, though for a different reason. Lance runs in in a comically dramatic way. He looks especially disheveled this morning, his hair in complete disorder and his shirt inside out. He looks…adorable, annoyingly enough. Keith shakes the thought out of his head. _No! Bad Keith!_

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Lance blubbers, nearly tripping on the steps to the professor’s desk. He doesn’t look sleepy, but he does seem somewhat weird. A little high strung, maybe? Maybe he shared some of the teacher’s cocaine. He’s just too excited for an 8 am calculus class.

“There’s your partner,” the professor grumbles, smacking his gums and sitting in his ratty burnt sienna swivel chair. Keith frowns. He really didn’t want to be partners with Lance. He’s not going to get a thing done today, especially not when Lance’s shirt hangs so deeply across his collarbones. They look so… _KEITH STOP!_

“Hey, my name is Lance,” he says, smiling brightly and sticking his hand out. God, what a beautiful and completely stupid smile.

“Keith. You’re late.” Keith responds, ignoring his hand. If he were to touch it, he probably wouldn’t want to let go. That or he might squeeze his hand too hard. Keith has a problem with that.

Lance rolls his eyes in an exaggerated manner. “Yeah well I had an uh... I had an interesting morning.” He smiles to himself and Keith raises his eyebrow. The way he said it, it makes him think he had some _fun_ before class. That would most definitely explain his hair and the weird vibe around him. Then again, Keith also had a good morning. The guy across the way seemed particularly into singing today. Hearing that voice is one way to make his day better, undoubtedly.

“That’s nice, anyway,” Keith starts explaining the teacher’s instructions, keeping his eyes averted from Lance’s face. Lord knows if he were to take one glance, he would completely lose his track of thought due to those sinful collarbones exposed so easily. Who even owns shirts that deep? What if your chest gets cold or something. What if there is someone who stares at your skin all period so they don’t get anything fucking done because of your dumb shirt?

“Got it. So, can I do page 722?” Lance asks, flipping through the textbook.

“Why?” Keith rather wanted that page. It reminded him of the first gig his brother’s band officially had. Shiro spent hours getting ready at home, forcing Keith to help him pick out an appropriate outfit and help him do his makeup. Shiro was just so excited and they played so well. That was a good day for both of them.

“It was the day the band I used to be in finally got our first gig,” Lance explains grinning. His eyes even twinkle like a dumb doe in a Disney movie. “Man, it was so awesome. The place was kinda grungy, but totally worth it. We had so much fun. And afterwards we went to my friend Shiro’s place and we just like vegged out and talked and watched a shit ton of movies and it was amazing. I just love that day. That’s why I want page 722.” His hands dance in the air and his face moves with every word. He talks so passionately.

Keith almost forgot that Lance was part of that day too. Of course, it would be a better day for him; he was part of the dumb band! However, Keith isn’t going to give up that easily. Lance may be the cutest boy he’s ever seen but that means nothing to Keith’s stubbornness. “Yeah well, that was the day that my brother’s band played their first gig too.”

“Dude, that’s cool! What a funny coincidence. What’s the band name? I knew quite a couple local ones. You know back in the day.”

Keith looks straight into Lance’s eyes. He’s all but said that the universe has practically destined them to meet because his brother and he played in the same band. Who knew this guy was so dense?

“Voltron.” Keith deadpans.

Lance looks so confused at first. Keith can practically see the gears working in his brain. It’s slow like they’re spinning without oil but then it eventually dawns on the egghead. His eyebrows rise up to his hairline, mouth drops open and eyes look like dinner plates.

“Shiro is your older brother.”

“Shiro is my older brother.” Keith confirms.

“That’s really funny. Well then, I bet you knew that I was Lance from the beginning, then. I knew Shiro had a brother, but I never met him. I can’t believe it’s you.” Lance laughs a little and Keith tenses up. God his laugh is so beautiful. _He_ is so beautiful.

“Yep. Now do page 722 and shut up.” Keith lies and plugs his earbuds in quickly. Well technically it wasn’t a lie. He did know who Lance was from the beginning of today. He doesn’t give Lance a single glance for the rest of class, however. Keith needs to get some work done.

(Of course, Keith doesn’t get a lick of work finished. _Damn those collarbones!_ )


	7. She Says

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is having a good day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha well here is where it starts to get interesting.... I hope you enjoy !! Leave comments and all that jazz please !!! 
> 
> hailey xx

“Yes!” Lance yells, noticing a brown box on the floor near the front door. “It finally came!”

“Next time you order sex toys off the internet, you better be here to sign for it, Lance,” Hunk grumbles from the couch, his mouth full of chips.

“Sorry,” Lance says, sheepishly. He really is sorry but he’s so excited. He’s been dying for this to come in for weeks. It kept being delayed, but it’s finally here.

“Also, order from some place that doesn’t have the product’s picture plastered on the side. I got a lot of looks from people. You owe it to me because now everyone in our hall thinks I'm some kinky ass fucker.”

“Okay, I will. I’ll do the dishes for like a week and I’ll call my mom to get the taquito recipe you love so much, deal?” Lance knows he could have just agreed to doing the dishes and Hunk would have let him off the hook, but he really does appreciate Hunk for all he does.

“Deal!”

Lance runs into his bedroom to open his package. It’s an early birthday present. It was a little expensive, but it’ll be totally worth it in Lance’s opinion. Well, when he finally gets a chance to use it, that is. Which will be hopefully soon.

It’s a glow in the dark, pink, ribbed, seven inch dildo.

Lance is _excited_.

But, he promised Nyma that he would see her today. It’s been awhile and they miss each other. So, Lance puts the toy back in its box, begrudgingly. Tomorrow, for sure.

It’s about a 10 minute walk to her house. She’s a couple years older than Lance, so she’s already graduated and living in a small little apartment. At one point, Lance asked if he could move in with her to save a little money, but she said they both wouldn’t fit. Which is a little true. Lance can barely stand straight up in the living room without bumping his head. She looks out for him.

All in all, Lance is having a pretty good day, so there is a bounce in his step as he strolls down the sidewalk. Hunk made some wicked coffee cake this morning, he had no classes, he finally beat the big boss Zarkon on his game, and his toy came in today. And now he gets to see his girlfriend. There is no way this day could be ruined. Well unless a car or something hits him. That’s pretty unlikely, though.

Lance stands at the crosswalk, waiting for the traffic to stop. He starts humming a little tune and bobbing his head. Maybe Nyma will want to get it on. Ever since he opened the toy he’s been a little excited. Maybe he should have brought it. They could have both had fun. Too late now though.

Lance begins crossing the street, almost skipping in happiness. He probably looks like a big dork, but he doesn’t care. Life is good.

_HONK!!_

Well he doesn’t care until someone honks their horn at him. Then he takes it down a notch and flips them the bird. It’s some balding guy in a little Prius. He looks like he isn’t having a good day. Sucks to be him. The guy gives him the finger back and Lance blows a kiss. He’s feeling extra spicy.

Lance smiles to himself the rest of the way there, pleased with his little passive aggressive stunt. It probably really pissed that guy off. At Nyma’s doorstep, he pulls out his key and unlocks the door. She says she always has it locked because she doesn’t want to get her stuff stolen by people around. Therefore, Lance got himself a key made.

“Nyma?” He calls, pushing the door open. He doesn’t hear anything back and just assumes she’s taking a nap. Lance will text her and sometimes she won’t respond for hours, she says because she sleeps a lot. Lance wishes he could sleep as much as she does. Unfortunately he has school.

Lance starts quietly making his way over to her bedroom. He’s never actually gotten to see her sleep before. She always insists on going home when they hang at his place and asks him to leave when he’s at hers. She says it’s because her landlord doesn’t know she’s in a relationship and she doesn’t want her rent to go up.

The closer he gets to her room, the weirder things get. He swears he hears creaking and… moaning? Nyma barely ever masturbates; she says it’s gross and that she doesn’t want to get her hands dirty. So is she watching a movie or something? Maybe she’s watching porn. That’s kind of hot.

However, when Lance pushes her bedroom door open, he doesn’t see the TV playing a kinky sex scene. Instead, he sees it on her bed. And she’s involved. And so is… Rolo?

“Lance! Get out!” a pillow is thrown at his face but he barely ever registers it. All he can think of is Nyma’s legs spread eagle and Rolo’s dick thrusting into her with his ugly, purplish dick. Lance feels like he might throw up at the sight.

In fact, he does, right on their clothes, and then he runs out. He just starts running. He runs through the middle of traffic, almost being hit three times. He runs up the stairs. He runs into the bathroom where he throws up again. His mind keeps running the reel of Rolo of all fucking people fucking his girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend.

Lance starts sobbing with his face over the bowl of the toilet. His stomach is still churning and his throat burns. Nyma cheated on him. With Rolo. She cheated on him. God, Lance is so stupid. He should have known, but he just _trusted_ her. He didn’t think she’d cheat on him. How long had she been fucking Rolo? Lance moans as he stomach wretches again.

Hunk comes tumbling in the bathroom looking worried. “Lance? Oh my god! What’s wrong?” he reaches for the washcloth hung up on the wall and soaks it. “Talk to me, buddy.”

“She,” Lance chokes out, “she fucking cheated on me.” His stomach tenses up again and he leans over but nothing comes out this time. “Hunk, she cheated on me!”

“Shh, okay, it’s okay,” Hunk leans him back and wipes his face clean. The towel is cool and it feels good against Lance’s red-hot face.

“She cheated.”

“I know, shh.” Hunk pulls him in close and hugs him tightly as he continues to sob loudly. “It’ll be okay. Why don’t you take a shower, and when you come out, there will be some coffee cake with some melted butter on it and a glass of milk with your name on it?”

“Okay,” Lance mumbles. Hunk stands him up and leans him against the sink before leaving. Lance swallows down the bile still in his throat as he starts to undress. His phone clatters the floor when he slides his pants down. Lance picks it up and puts it on the counter. Maybe he’ll play some music. Music makes him feel better.

Lance scrolls through all his songs before he finds on that expresses how he feels.


	8. It's Going to be Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith finds out Lance has been cheated on and they sing about it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops i meant to post this yesterday but i had like 29857438 hours of APUSH so sorry... anyway its here now !!! love you guys, and please keep commenting !!!! 
> 
> hailey xx

Netflix truly is a life sucker. Keith could be out partying, he could be meeting new people, he could even be studying. But no, he’s settled deeply into his bed, a blanket burrito keeping him warm and a bowl of low sodium cheez-its on his stomach. After binge watching 10 episodes of Haikyuu!!, Keith really needs to pee.

Keith isn’t even sure why he let Shiro convince him to watch this bullshit anime. It’s dumb but it’s so good and it makes Keith mad. Shiro is a sports anime piece of trash; Keith prefers ones that are more psychological. The most psychological thing about Haikyuu!! is Kageyama’s flashbacks to his junior high asshole years. Keith empathizes with Kageyama deeply, though. That’s his favorite character, though he does have to admire the fiery speed of Hinata. Keith really hates Shiro for this.

“Hunk, she cheated on me!” a desperate voice cries out. Keith is startled at first at the voice, but he realizes it comes from the man across the way. It’s slightly garbled and it’s not as easy to hear as his powerful singing. His voice sounds so small now.

“Shh, okay, it’s okay.” Another voice coos. Keith frowns. He hates cheaters. In addition, he especially hates that this particular person was cheated on. How dare her! “It’ll be okay. Why don’t you take a shower, and when you come out, there will be some coffee cake with some melted butter on it and a glass of milk with your name on it?”

Keith can barely make out the tiny, “okay” that follows. It’s not okay though. It’s definitely not okay. Keith is very angry about the fact someone cheated on this guy. No one ever deserves that feeling. Keith wouldn’t wish it upon his worst enemy. Then, he hears music beginning to play.

“I see you driving ‘round town with the girl I love and I’m like, ‘Fuck you!’”

A more recognizable voice sings. Keith thinks this is a good song for this situation and decides to not join him this time. This time it’s just for him. It’s for him to get it all out.

“I guess the change in my pocket wasn’t enough. I’m like, ‘Fuck you’ and ‘Fuck her too!’”

Keith has only dated a few people. Okay one person back in junior high but whatever. That’s not the point. The point is that Keith can’t imagine the pain of trusting someone so much and them completely destroying it in a merciless way.

“I said, ‘If I was richer, I’d still be with ya’ ha, now ain’t that some shit?”

Keith whispers, “ain’t that some shit”

“And although there’s a pain in my chest, I still wish you the best with a, ‘Fuck you!’ Yeah, I’m sorry I can’t afford a Ferrari, but that don’t mean I can’t get you there. I guess he’s an Xbox and I’m more Atari, but the way you play your game ain’t fair.”

There are other songs that make this guy’s voice sound much richer, sweeter, sexier, but this song has a lot of emotion in it. He doesn’t hit all the notes perfectly and he messes up on some of the lyrics, but his voice is thick with anguish and fury.

“I picture the fool that falls in love with you,”

“Oh shit, she’s a gold digger, just thought you should know n****,” Keith keeps his voice low as he slides down the wall they share.

“Well, I’ve got some news for you. Yeah, go run and tell your little boyfriend. I see you driving around town with the girl I love and I'm like ‘Fuck you!’ I guess the change in my pocket wasn’t enough and I'm like, ‘Fuck you’ and ‘Fuck her too!’ I said, ‘If I was richer, I’d still be with ya,’ ha, now ain’t that some shit?”

His ‘fucks’ sound so violent like he’s truly yelling it in her face.

“Ain’t that some shit?”

Good. Keith hopes he does.

“And although there’s pain in my chest, I _don’t_ wish you the best with a, ‘Fuck you!’”

Keith notices the lyric change. He almost feels the pain that his man is. It’s the way he carries his voice, it just soaks into your skin and his chest hurts a little too.

“Now, I know that I had to borrow, beg, and steal and lie and cheat. Tryna keep ya, tryna please ya. ‘Cause being in love with your ass ain’t cheap. I picture the fool that falls in love with you,”

“Oh shit she’s a gold digger, just thought you should know n****.”

“Well, I’ve got some news for you, ha-ha; oh I really hate your ass right now! I see you driving around town with the girl I love and I'm like ‘Fuck you!’ I guess the change in my pocket wasn’t enough and I'm like, ‘Fuck you’ and ‘Fuck her too!’ I said, ‘If I was richer, I’d still be with ya,’ ha, now ain’t that some shit?”

“Ain’t that some shit?”

Keith pulls his knees to his chest thinking about how this man must look. You can hear his tears in the waver of his voice. He must be red faced, streaks down his cheeks, eyes raw and probably a runny nose.

“And although there’s pain in my chest, I don’t wish you the best with a, ‘Fuck you!’”

The man’s voice cracks.

“Now baby, baby, baby, why’d you wanna wanna hurt me so bad?”

“So bad, so bad, so bad,”

“I tried to tell my mama but she told me, ‘This is one for your dad.’”

“Your dad, your dad, your dad.”

“Yes, she did! Uh! Why? Uh! Why? Uh! Why lady? I love you. I still love you! I see you driving around town with the girl I love and I'm like ‘Fuck you!’ I guess the change in my pocket wasn’t enough and I'm like, ‘Fuck you’ and ‘Fuck her too!’ I said, ‘If I was richer, I’d still be with ya,’ ha, now ain’t that some shit?”

“Ain’t that some shit?”

“And although there’s pain in my chest, I don’t wish you the best with a, ‘Fuck you!’”

Keith hears the shower turn on. He can hear the quiet sobbing still too. Then he hears a new song start to play. A much sadder song.

“No I can’t take one more step towards you. ‘Cause all that’s waiting is regret. Don’t you know I’m not your ghost anymore? You lost the love I loved the most.”

Keith thought he was the king of sad songs, but he was wrong. This guy wins. He wins the sad song battle especially because he’s not even singing, he’s just sobbing.

“I learned live half alive but now you want me one more time. And who do you think you are, running around leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart? You’re gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So don’t come back for me. Who do you-“

His voice breaks and he doesn’t sing the rest of the chorus. Keith stands up and faces the shared wall. He’ll finish it. He’ll finish it for the angelic boy across the way.

“I hear you’re asking all around. If I’m anywhere to be found. But I have grown too strong, to ever fall back in your arms.”

Keith presses his palms against the wall, his nose nearly brushing it as he sings hard. He sings for this guy, this guy who he has no idea what they look like or what they act like. He sings for the voice he fell for.

“I learned to live, half alive. And now you want me one more time. Who do you think you are? Running around leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, tearing love apart. You’re gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So don’t come back for me. Who do you think you are?”

He doesn’t even care that he has a dumb crush on Lance from his calculus class, he doesn’t care that he has a similar crush on a dumb voice next door. He just cares about them. He can feel this guy’s pain and he wants to take it all away.

“Dear, it took so long just to feel all right, remember how to put but the light in my eyes. I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed. ‘Cause you broke all your promises, and now you’re back, you don’t get to get me back!”

Keith hopes this chick doesn’t ever come back for this guy. He will personally kick her ass. He doesn’t even care if she’s a woman. Cheating is the worst and no one deserves to be forgiven for it.

“Who do you think you are? Running around leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart. You’re gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So, don’t come back for me. Don’t come back at all!”

Keith sings his absolute hardest. More than he sang last week. More than he ever has in his life. He wants to show this other man that he’s not alone. He has his roommate, Hunk, and he has him. Even though they’ve never met, it doesn’t matter. Keith will support him.

“And who do you think you are? Running around leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts and tearing love apart. You’re gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. Don’t come back for me, don’t come back at all! Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are?”

Keith slumps against the wall again and sighs. His heart is thumping loudly and his chest is heaving. From the other side, he also hears a thump as if someone leaned against the wall.


End file.
